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Pete Brown

Pete Brown was born in Surrey on Christmas Day, 1940 to a Jewish family who had fled London to escape the Blitz. With a keen interest in the war, what was happening and its aftermath, Pete moved back to London in 1951. Here he attended a Jewish Grammar School but was expelled when enforced religion took its toll.

Pete began writing poetry in 1955, initially inspired by Dylan Thomas, Gerard Manley Hopkins and later the US Beats. For many years he moved between menial jobs until he got his first break and his work began to get published, primarily in America.

Pete met poet, Mike Horovitz at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival in 1960 and joined his travelling arts group, New Departures. They wrote many jazz poems together and formed a jazz poetry group with some of the best ‘Brit jazzers’. They secured a residency in 1963 at the famed London Marquee club and went on to appear at the iconic Albert Hall, reading poetry, in 1965.

In 1966, Pete was asked to write lyrics for new super group, Cream by drummer Ginger Baker. It was this year that also saw the publication of his first book of poetry entitled, Few.

Among Pete’s song-writing credits include the lyrics for hits such as I Feel Free, Sunshine of Your Love, and White Room as many well as many more with with bass player/singer Jack Bruce. It was then that he really began making a living as a lyricist. Following the split of Cream, he carried on writing with Jack for the next 46 years and the pair began one of the longest song writing partnerships in history.

In 1967, encouraged by Graham Bond, Pete began singing demos and then struck a deal in 1968 with The Battered Ornaments on Harvest Records. The band parted ways with Pete in 1969 just before the Stones in the Park gig. Pete bounced back with Piblokto that same year, which went on to enjoy 3 years of success. He then joined his old friend Graham Bond in the ill-fated Bond and Brown in 1972.

Several bands later and Pete finally left the industry in 1977, not that he felt anyone noticed due to the advent of Punk. He began writing scripts for the then non-existent British film industry. The only one that got made was in America. He did, however, write the dramatic links for the Stones video album Rewind, a big bestseller, with Julien Temple.

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Pete Brown: White Rooms & Imaginary Westerns, Part 2

Read "Pete Brown: White Rooms & Imaginary Westerns, Part 2" reviewed by Duncan Heining


Part 1 | Part 2 1966 was an important year in British popular music. Bob Dylan, performing with the Hawks, was booed for “going electric" at Manchester Free Trade Hall. The Rolling Stones topped the charts for the first time with “Paint It Black." The Beatles, fresh from the John Lennon “Bigger than Jesus" controversy, released Revolver, their finest album. Jimi Hendrix was introduced to the public with the single “Hey Joe." And poet Pete Brown began a ...

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Pete Brown: White Rooms & Imaginary Westerns, Part 1

Read "Pete Brown: White Rooms & Imaginary Westerns, Part 1" reviewed by Duncan Heining


Part 1 | Part 2 Poet, lyricist, rock musician, producer and scriptwriter—Pete Brown has covered a lot of bases in his six decades in music and literature. His career embodies that era that began with the Beatles' “Love Me Do" in October 1962 and ended in January 1969 with the band playing live on the roof at Apple Corps in Savile Row. For a brief moment anything seemed possible and, in many ways, Brown has continued to cross ...

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